Someone to Watch Over Me
by MarieStarbuck
Summary: A short George inspired drabble. No pairing as such. Read and review.
1. Chapter 1 In Which We See George Again

_So, Howdy! This is my first fic (that's a statement not an excuse) and I know it's a little clunky and very short. There is more to come but I want to see if this gets any response first or if it'll just disappear into some forgotten corner of the internet. Enjoy (hopefully!). Please review if you feel so inclined, constructive criticism is very welcome. Please don't flame!_

It was odd, being here. It felt almost timeless yet his arrival was still clearly etched into his memory. He was met my Doc, who was still as aggressive as ever towards him, and Denny who looked exactly the same, if not a little wiser. His father was here too but he fazed in and out; his presence being temporal. Just like before, when he spent his days watching patients and carefully studying for signs of illness. He now spent his days watching out for his loved ones, his people and, like Denny once told Meredith, sometimes, just sometimes you can almost reach out and touch them.

In his life there were only seven women whom George O'Malley ever loved. The first was his high school sweetheart with whom he lost touch. During his first few days here, wherever here was, he searched for her and found her happily married with three adorable children; she was happy and with that reassurance he found he could close that particular chapter of his life.


	2. Chapter 2 In Which We Hear of Meredith

_So far I've got two reviews! Considering I only posted this last night and it's still a little rough that's amazing, thank you! So here's the next chapter, again it's rather short but here it is! I have the next two chapters after this drafted so I'll upload pretty quickly. I'm really struggling with the last two chapters I planned but I promise that I WILL finish this. Read and review, no flames please. Enjoy! Marie X_

_There were seven women whom George O'Malley ever loved._

The next was Meredith Grey; for him she was like the clichéd first love, he fell hard and he fell fast. Their story was far from a fairytale though; an awkward sexual encounter that broke his heart and another guy who eventually got the girl. It took some time but eventually he learnt to love her as purely a friend.

He watches Meredith closely when he can, wanting to be there when everyone else can't. Although these days she's mostly, as she promised years ago 'so bright and shiny it'll make your teeth hurt' there are times when she feels more alone than ever. The house is emptier than it's been in years with his death and Izzie's disappearing act. Late at night, when Derek is working late at the hospital and Alex and Lexie are out, she feels the lack of people and wishes for the good old frat house days. When he can George reaches out and tries to provoke a happy memory; a memory of friends and laughter, and if that fails he merely concentrates on making her kidney in the jar glow brightly- shedding warm light to banish the shadows.


	3. Chapter 3 In Which We Discuss Callie

_Without further ado here is Chapter Three. Enjoy! Marie X_

_Oh, before I forget. Grey's and any related characters or events are property of their respective owners. No copyright infringement was intended. Please don't sue. This is in addition to my universal disclaimer on my homepage._

_There were seven women whom George O'Malley ever loved._

The love he felt for Callie was the passionate love; the one that burns bright and hot in an all consuming desire but quickly fades into a deep caring friendship. As he thinks back George wonders if the spur of the moment Vegas wedding really was a good idea or a terrible mistake like everyone told him. A deep regret still lingers for hurting Callie and even when he now watches her he sometimes feels pangs of guilt over how he treated her.

There's a nagging voice in his head, sounding vaguely like Cristina, which feels the need to point out that 'Bambi turned Callie gay' each and every time he sees Callie with Arizona, or before that with Erica. However Callie's smiling and for once in her life she feels like she has somewhere to belong. She may be the partner he has the most regrets about yet she's the one he watches least because she's happy and fulfilled and she no longer really needs him.

(BTW I liked the George/Callie pairing but in the end it never really worked. Sadly, I don't think George really got to shine in any of the pairing which they gave him on the show *sob* Also I think Callie/Arizona is really cute!) Read and Review.


	4. Chapter 4 In Which We Visit Izzie

_Yep, here's Chapter Four! From here on in I haven't pre-written chapters so I might be a little slower updating. Don't lose faith, the updates will come. I swear it on George O'Malley's memory. I only have two chapters planned until I finish this story so. . . Enjoy! Marie X_

_p.s. I haven't watched any of Season 6 yet (DVDs aren't released here in the UK yet) so anything referencing events in S6 is based upon what I've read about so could be untrue. _

_There were seven women whom George O'Malley ever loved._

Izzie was his love of a lifetime; the one he would have spent the rest of his life with of the fates hadn't decided that they were never meant to be. Their timing was always wrong and no matter how they tried something was always conspiring against them.

He went to her often now, trying to steer her back onto the right path and bring back the bubbly optimistic women he met on that crucial day so long ago. Her eyes were empty now; the spirit and determination that had once shone there had been taken from her along with her fight, the cancer had stolen it all.

He found it hard to help her, she'd distanced herself so much from her old life that his attempts to comfort her rarely succeeded. Yet, on a few precious days, he was able to reach her and she would leave the endless baking to snatch glances at her once prized medical textbooks, now hidden in a dusty, forgotten cupboard and for a few moments she was alive and happy again. She was Doctor Isobel Stevens. It was these brief moments that gave George hope, which made him believe that inside the shell of a person, Izzie still existed and could be saved. He would love her forever and watch over her always, he just hopes it's enough, and maybe someday she would return home to her family.


	5. Chapter 5 In Which We Talk of Lexie

So here's a super short one to tide you over. The next chapter is focused on Bailey and I'm really struggling to channel her character at the moment. Hopefully it'll be up within the next few days if I can find some time to write. Enjoy! Marie X

_There were seven women whom George O'Malley ever loved._

George despaired when watching Lexie; she'd been a friend to him when he needed it most but it hurt to watch her making her half-sister's mistakes. She had the good childhood, the mother and father that cared and looked after her. Yet she was following in the footsteps left by Meredith and he wished that she could find her own personal Knight in shining whatever.

Even though Lexie didn't know it, George held her hand through the heartbreak and the tears, all the time praying she was strong enough the make it.

_Read and Review._


	6. Chapter 6 In Which We Deconstruct Bailey

_Hi! Sorry this one took a while to post; I found it really hard to write. The first bit is a little out of character for this story but I really wanted everyone to realise how Bailey felt about George's death. I've got one more chapter planned after this and then an epilogue (which I've already written and is waiting to go!) hopefully I should be able to update tomorrow night (night for me in the UK so if you're elsewhere in the world I have no idea what time it'll be for you). Read and Review. Marie X _

_There are seven women whom George O'Malley ever loved._

"_I have five rules, memorize them. Rule number one, don't bother sucking up. I already hate you, that's not gonna change."_

But it did change. The annoying interns became her babies as they wormed their way into her heart. She took five unprepared children and turned them into a family, taught them to be surgeons. She dealt with their intern drama; the relationships, the illness, the failures but now she only has three interns left, because even though their residents now they'll forever be her interns. One of them jumped in front of a bus to save a stranger then bled out on a gurney in the OR; the combined skill of SGH not enough to save him. The other was diagnosed with stage four skin cancer and survived before leaving out of the blue. Now all that is left is half a family; a husband without a wife, a post-it bride and a workaholic with no people skills. They'd lost the heart of the family, the glue that kept them together.

'_Each one, teach one'_

Bailey was a unique kind of mother figure to George; she could be abrupt, cold and at times furious but underneath the bluster she cared and everything she did was to help him, to teach him.

George came to her occasionally now; the breakup of her marriage combined with his death, and when all is said and done he was almost a surrogate son to Bailey, is a lot for one person to handle.

There were times when Bailey wanted to give in and break down but without her knowledge, George reached out and gave her a push in the right direction; causing her common sense to take over again.

He felt sorry for Bailey and wishes there were something he could do to help her but he does not worry about her. Even with the pain and the loss she is still Doctor Bailey and Doctor Bailey can do anything.


	7. Chapter 7 In Which We Help Mrs O'Malley

_Okay, so a little later than I said but. . . I'm uploading the final chapter straight after this. Read and Review. Marie X_

_There were seven women George O'Malley ever loved_

Like most men, the first woman George ever truly loved was his mother. When he was young she was the best role model he could find, as he grew she was always there to comfort him, and iron his scrubs against his wishes. She supported him throughout med school and nothing he could ever do would cause her to stop loving him unconditionally.

His death was hard on her. Not only had she lost a husband; now she had lost a son, but Mrs O'Malley was strong. She grieved for her youngest child but instead of drowning in his loss she celebrated his life.

George saw how his mother coped with his passing and wished the rest of his family; both blood relatives and not, could handle it so well.

He goes to her once a year now, on what would have been his birthday. It is the only time she allows herself to break down over her son and by some cosmic miracle her son is always there to comfort her, even if she does not know it. The brief echo of childish laugher in the quiet house is not, as she suspects, a symptom of her advancing age but a gift left by someone departed: a brief melody to soothe the painful memories. Her son's last effort to support his mother.


	8. Chapter 8 In Which We Celebrate A Hero

'_Eight of you will switch to an easier speciality.'_

He hadn't switched to another, easier speciality. The thought had never crossed him mind. His parents had called him a surgeon in the same tone children reserve for Superman or Spiderman; quitting was not an option.

'_Five of you will crack under the pressure.'_

He hadn't cracked under the pressure either, and God knows there had been plenty of it. Through the pain and the loss and the heartbreak he stood firm; like a willow tree he bent but did not break.

'_Two of you will be asked to leave.'_

Even when he failed his intern exam they did not ask him to leave. He was accepted back to redo his intern year; to try again. In the end they recognised his talent and he made resident, not once did the Chief or Bailey or anyone else doubt that eventually he would make it.

'_This is your starting line. This is your arena. How well you play, that's up to you.'_

Oh how he had played. He may not have been as driven as Cristina or as naturally talented as Meredith but even with the hurdles thrown at him; George O'Malley had given his all to help people.

'_You know, I would have made a really good postal worker.'_

In the end, his career was ended by the one thing surgeons spend their lives fighting: death. His life cut unbearably short whilst trying to save another. George O'Malley may never have become an attending but he would always be a hero and a friend.

In death, as in life, George O'Malley looked out for those he loved. He helped people, tried to save people and shared his heart with people. Those lucky enough to know him only realised how much he had touched their lives once he was gone; yet they didn't forget him. In their memories he lived on.

The place he now inhabited gave him the ability to watch out for people, though not a superpower he ever contemplated it was the one that suited him best, and it was his gift. Sometimes you just need someone to watch over you.

There was a new wing added to the Denny Duquette Memorial Clinic about six months after George's death. It was simply called the "O'Malley Wing". Above the door there is a plaque which simply states

'In the memory of George O'Malley 1977-2009,

Here's the thing about 007, he may have had a license to kill but he was also one of the best'

This plaque is the first thing people see when they enter the wing, every day the doctors and nurses staffing the clinic are asked about it and every day more people are told of George O'Malley.

_Fin_

_Here endeth the fic. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I'm not sure when I'll venture another fic but keep an eye out, I'll be back!_

_Special Thanks go to_

_samgirl19, Magges and emmaknightly1982 _

_for either reviewing or adding my lil' old fic to their favs. You guys are awesome!_

_NB. I have no idea when George was born; I couldn't find it anywhere so the date is just a guess!_

_Thank you and Goodnight._

_XXX _


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